Safety and Security

The Kingdom of Thailand continue to attract thousands of tourists and new residents from around the world, all drawn to its diverse landscapes, world-famous cuisine, and ancient culture. Although tourists and residents of Thailand can enjoy relative calm and safety throughout their time in the Kingdom, it’s important to be aware of the current realities facing Thailand.

Political Situation in Thailand

The government structure of Thailand is known as a Constitutional Monarchy, currently under King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who ascended the throne in December 2016 following the October 2016 passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Since 2005, Thailand has experienced many instances of political turmoil which include a military coup d’état in 2006 that resulted in the removal of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Chinawat, followed by anti-government protests and conflicts between competing political factions for several years. In August 2014, Royal Thai Army General Prayut Chan-ocha was appointed Prime Minister, following another coup d’état a few months before.

Today, the political situation in most of Thailand is relatively calm, with the new constitution having been signed in April 2017. However, the Southern region of the country continues to experience unrest and violence due to ethnic and nationalist insurgents. Officials continue to advise tourists and residents to exercise caution when traveling to these areas, and to always stay informed of the current political climate.

Thailand has a healthy and fairly consistent system of information and journalism, where the most current political events and realities are covered both in English and Thai. One such outlet is the Bangkok Post.

Safety in Thailand: Road Travel

Traveling within Thailand is relatively simple with buses, trains, planes, and boats making it possible to reach nearly all areas of the country rather easily. Within the city of Bangkok taxis, motorcycles, cars, and an extensive subway system connects the entire city. For those who choose to drive in Thailand, there are some important points to consider regarding the laws and regulations that govern driving in Thailand. The website Driving in Thailand provides comprehensive information on the rules, regulations, and expectations that come along with driving in Thailand.

Entry Requirements

Prior to confirming your appointment at Bumrungrad International Hospital, you should consider the entry requirements of Thailand. You may need to get vaccinated or apply for a visa in order to enter the Kingdom of Thailand. 

Health and Vaccinations

As with traveling to most other countries, health authorities advise all travelers to always make sure that they’re up to date on all their vaccinations before the trip. Every traveler needs to be up to date on their routine vaccinations, which are: thediphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, the chickenpox vaccine, the polio vaccine, the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, and your regular flu vaccine.

Additionally, please see the table below for more specific vaccine recommendations that may apply to specific people before entering Thailand.

Malaria: When traveling in Thailand, you should avoid mosquito bites to prevent malaria. You may need to take prescription medicine before, during, and after your trip to prevent malaria, depending on your travel plans, such as where you are going, when you are traveling, and if you are spending a lot of time outdoors or sleeping outside. Talk to your doctor about how you can prevent malaria while traveling. Areas of Thailand with risk of malaria: Primarily in provinces that border Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, and Laos and the provinces of Kalasin, Krabi (Plai Phraya district), Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Phang Nga (including Phang Nga City), Rayong, Sakon Nakhon, Songkhla, Surat Thani, and Yala, especially the rural forest and forest fringe areas of these provinces. Rare to few cases in other parts of Thailand, including other parts of Krabi Province and the cities of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, and Phuket.

None in the islands of Krabi Province (Koh Phi Phi, Koh Yao Noi, Koh Yao Yai, and Ko Lanta) and Pattaya City. See more detailed information about malaria in Thailand.

Immigration and Customs

Travel Advice and Support

Once you’ve decided to travel to Bangkok, you may want to learn more about Thailand and how you can make the most out of your trip. The best place to start your research would be the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s website, which covers a wide range of topics such as:

• General information about Thailand  

• General information about Bangkok 

• What to expect from Thailand’s weather 

• Frequently asked questions about traveling in Thailand 

• Restrictions on narcotics and psychotropic substances in Thailand. 

Travel Checklist

Once your appointment at Bumrungrad International Hospital has been confirmed, our medical travel team will send you a packet of important information you need to know before traveling. To help you better prepare your medical travel itinerary, please take a look at this travel checklist.
 

Section I: Traveling by Air

In general, if you have the below conditions; it is prohibited to travel by air

• Have passed 36 weeks of pregnancy (or 32 weeks if you are carrying twins, triplets, etc.).
• Have a recent heart attack or stroke. Or any type of surgery, especially stomach, brain, eye, orthopedic (bone and joint) surgery including stomach, eye, or head injury. Please check with your doctor to see when it is safe for you to travel.
• Have an implanted cardiac device such as pacemakers, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD); please check with your doctor before travelling by air. Don’t forget to carry your personal device identification card with you at all times.
• Have flu-like symptoms with or without tuberculosis like symptoms such as prolonged cough, weight loss, night sweat, fatigue, fever, and chest pain for more than 2 weeks. We strongly advise you to not travel at this stage, and for them to continue treatment with their current care team until his symptoms have resolved completely.
• Are suffering from the below signs and symptoms, please check with your doctor to see when it is safe for you to travel.
  • Chest pain.
  • Any disease that you can easily spread to other people.
  • Severe sinus, ear, or nose infections.
  • Breathlessness at rest, difficult breathing.
  • Psychotic illness except when fully controlled.
  • A fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or greater.
  • Skin rash
  • Confusion
  • Bruising or bleeding (without previous injury)
  • Diarrhea that does not go away.
  • Vomiting that does not go away (other than motion sickness).

During the flight:

• Keep all of your medications in your hand luggage.
• Drink plenty of water to help prevent hydration and to help loosen your sputum and allow you to keep your chest clear from low humidity levels in air cabin.
• During a long-distance flight of 4 hours or longer (Also see https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dvt/travel.html , deep vein thrombosis can occur as a result of this inactivity; make sure you get up and walk about regularly when permitted by the staff on the aircraft. Bend and stretch your legs and wiggle your feet at regular intervals (for example every 30 minutes) to encourage your circulation.
  • If you have a higher risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, your doctor can help you work out what measures you may need to take prior to flying. This may include graduated compression stockings, aspirin, or anticoagulants.
• If you will need oxygen during the flight, this must be requested in advance. A Medical Information Form, stating your current clinical condition and the reason for oxygen requirement, must be filled out and submitted to the airlines. It may take 3-5 working days to process and subjected to the airlines approval.

Section II: Pre-operative Preparation

• Please inform your doctor before the surgery if you have an existing medical condition for which you are taking medication and/or you have undergone any previous surgeries.
• If you are taking anticoagulants like aspirin, Persantin^®, Ticlid^®, Plavix^®, warfarin, Orfarin^®, heparin, and Fraxiparine^®, herbal supplements, and vitamins, especially vitamin E, stop these medications/supplements at least one week before the surgery or as recommended by your doctor.
• If you smoke and drink alcohol regularly, please stop for at least one week before the surgery to reduce the chances of complications.
• If you have any underlying diseases: cardiovascular disease / diabetes / high blood pressure / asthma / cancer / or others including any allergic to any medications and any medicines you are taking, current treatment and correlating diagnosis, please inform physician in advance.

Travel Risk Assessment

What do I need to prepare for my medical travel? 

1. Check if your passport is valid and if you need a visa to travel to the destination country. 

2. Decide how you will finance your medical payment, such as cash or credit card, and make sure additional cash in the local currency. Call your bank or card insurer to forewarn them that you may process a large payment abroad. This is to prevent banks from treating the transaction as suspicious and blocking your account. 

3. Ensure that you have contact information to your clinic, transport provider and patient assistant. 

4. Inform your employer about your absence at work due to medical travel. 

5. Check the weather forecast for Bangkok and prepare yourself. 

6. Arrange assistance at home when you are abroad. 

7. Check if it is necessary for you to get certain vaccinations. 

8. Remember to make your appointment at the clinic and pay the reservation fee if needed. Double check the dates. 

9. Purchase appropriate flight tickets. Make sure someone will pick you up from the airport. 

10. Remove any nail polish as the color of your nail plate may help indicate your health condition. 

What should I take with me?

1. Mobile phone with a charger
2. Personal documents such as ID card, passport and visa
3. Credit/debit card and some additional cash in the correct local currency.
4. Medical records, including current diagnosis, films (X-ray, MRI, CT scan, ultrasound), biopsy results and your contact information.
5. Daily medication, if any, in original packaging; any type of information regarding any chronic diseases that you may have.
6. Items for leisure and entertainment purposes during your medical travel; for instance, books, magazines and music players 
7. Comfortable pajamas and bathrobe if your medical procedure requires overnight stays; for instance, it is recommended that you wear shorts instead of long trousers if you have a knee surgery scheduled; for a shoulder operation, you may consider bringing a zip-up blazer
8. Comfortable undergarments and socks
9. Shoes to walk around the clinic – if you are undergoing plastic or another upper-body surgery, then you may take slippers. In the case of the orthopedic procedure, please bear in mind that you need some more stable footwear trainers.
10. A basic set of toiletries such as soap, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, comb, sanitary napkins, shaving kit, hair band, lip balm and face wash
11. Towels
12. A set of clothes for your physiotherapy and rehabilitation, if it is required after surgery; this may include tracksuit and a pair of sneakers
13. Largely depends on the purpose of your medical travel, you may consider visiting sightseeing destinations; if that is the case, bring casual clothes and comfortable shoes; however, if you may undergo procedures that affect mobility, such as a hip replacement, you should consider bringing comfortable loose trousers, blazer and elastic shorts.
14. Sleep essentials such as earplugs, pajamas and your favorite small pillow

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Patient's Rights

We can provide better medical care when you and your family work together as partners with our staff. While it is our responsibility to advise you of your rights as a patient; you also have responsibilities in your treatment and care. We urge you to ask questions, cooperate, and be proactive in the medical care plan. If you have questions or concerns, please discuss with any staff member or manager.

While you are in our hospital, you have certain rights as a patient: 

1. Patients have fundamental rights to get medical care from healthcare professionals without discrimination as stated in the constitution.
2. Patients have the rights to receive truthful and adequate information about the illness, investigation, treatment, as well as benefits and risks from healthcare professionals in an appropriate language before making a decision to consent except in a case of emergency and life-threatening conditions.
3. Patients with life-threatening conditions have the rights to receive immediate medical attention from healthcare professionals without the need to request for help.
4. Patients have the rights to know name and profession of the responsible healthcare providers.
5. Patients have the rights to ask for an opinion of another healthcare professionals and have the rights to request for a change to other healthcare professionals or medical facility that comply with the terms and conditions of respective health insurance.
6. Patients have the rights to confidentiality of medical information except when a consent is provided or when the information is required by healthcare professionals to provide direct medical benefits. 
7. Patients have the rights to be completely informed before making a decision to participate in human subject research. 
8. Patients have the rights to make a request for information in their medical record that comply with hospital rules and regulations as long as the request does not violate the rights of others. 
9. A parent or legal guardian may exercise the rights on behalf of the patient who is under 18 years old or physically or mentally incompetent.

If You have Questions, Concerns, or Comments

Please contact us in one of the following channels:

1. Tell our staff directly (attending nurse or doctor)
2. Write your comments on a patient feedback card and give it to one of our staff or put it in one of the suggestion box located throughout the hospital
3.  Call our Contact Center (dial “00” for internal hospital line or 0-2066-8888 from outside)
4. Send us an e-mail to: [email protected] 

Patient’s Responsibilities

1. Patients are responsible for asking for information and potential risks before signing an informed consent for diagnostic or treatment procedure.
2. Patients are responsible for providing truthful and complete health and other information to the responsible healthcare professionals.
3. Patients are responsible for cooperating and following healthcare professionals’ recommendations about medical care and should notify when the compliance may not be possible. 
4. Patients are responsible for cooperating and complying with the following hospital’s rules and regulations:
   1. Patients are responsible for providing complete and correct information for reimbursement from an insurance company as soon as possible after receiving an invoice from the hospital.
   2. Patients are responsible for providing a copy of advance directive, living will, and written decision of preferred treatment options.
   3. Patients are responsible for the medical appointments or inform the hospital if rescheduling is needed.
   4. Patients are responsible for direct cooperation with hospital management representatives to resolve a complaint.
   5. Patients are responsible for bringing only personal items essential for the hospital stay but not valuables.
   6. Patients are responsible for not leaving the hospital facility without a permission from the doctor or nurse to ensure patient safety.
   7. Patients are responsible for receiving medical and nursing care only from the hospital but not by other persons or by themselves except when instructed by the hospital to do so.
5. Patients are responsible for treating healthcare professionals, other patients, and visitors with courtesy and respect.
6. Patients are responsible for informing about health insurance benefit with proper documentation to the hospital.
7. Patients are responsible for being aware of the following facts:
   1. Healthcare professionals who perform standard and ethical practice are protected by law and have the rights to be protected from unfair accuse.
   2. Medical care refers to a current medical practice that is based on scientific evidence to show higher benefits than risks to the patient.
   3. Medical care cannot diagnose, prevent, or treat all diseases or condition.
   4. Any medical care can result in unexpected consequences despite the fact that the healthcare professional have been extremely careful in any situation.
   5. Any test for disease screening, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring might have inaccurate result because of technological limitation and other uncontrollable by current standards.
   6. Healthcare professionals have the rights to choose an evidence-based medical treatment option in a given context and limitations as well as to consult or refer the patient as appropriate.
   7. Healthcare professionals may consult or refer the patient who are not in an emergency or life-threatening condition.
   8. Medical care provided by healthcare professionals might be compromised if necessary health information is not disclosed by the patient.
   9. Emergency room is only for patients who are in emergency and life-threatening condition.

Any act of physical violence, verbal threats or intimidation towards the hospital staff will not be tolerated. Anyone, who uses violence against hospital staff, is prosecuted and may be banned from using hospital services.

ETHICS CONSULTATION

Our Hospital’s Ethics Committee is available to consult with patients and families who face ethical issues or questions regarding their care choices. To arrange for a consultation please call the Hospital’s Contact Center by pressing “00” on your telephone from inside the hospital or 0-2066-8888 from outside and tell the representative you’d like to speak with a member of the Ethics Committee.